View full sizeCourtesy Photo | Chris SicilianoAbout 1,000 people stood in line Saturday at Founders Brewing Co. on Grandville Ave SW for a limited release of the company's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. About a third walked away empty-handed due to limited quantity and high demand.

GRAND RAPIDS — Founders Brewing Co. apologized on its website this weekend for not being able to sell enough of its sought-after Kentucky Breakfast Stout to beer lovers who lined up as early as 12 hours before Saturday’s limited release event.

The popularity of KBS, which was named the No. 2 beer of 2011 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, meant there were close to 1,000 people in line for the release when the Grand Rapids brewery’s taproom on Grandville Ave. SW opened at 11 a.m.

The turnout took the brewery staff by surprise and they decided to limit the purchase amount to a half-case per person instead of the advertised full case. The brewery had 315 cases to sell at $114 apiece. With the allocation cut in half, 634 people walked away with beer and the last 362 people were out of luck, the company said.

On Sunday, four-packs of the beer were selling for upwards of $60 on eBay. The brewery was selling them for $19 per 4-pack and $4.75 per bottle on Saturday. Founders said next year’s release will be three-times larger.

Nonetheless, some of those who drove long hours and ended up going home empty-handed took to the company's Facebook page to gripe. Founders made this statement:

"First of all, we want to thank everyone for their support, their loyalty, and their appreciation for good craft beer–if nobody cared about KBS, we wouldn’t be sending out this communication because there would be no issue. The turnout for our release today was a testament to the dedication of the beer enthusiasts and to how far our industry has come over the years.

[…] Our vision for our release parties has been to get the core beer enthusiasts to our brewery for a fun time, to foster new friendships and new stories to tell. We’ve always wanted it to be more about the experience than the beer that folks leave with, and we’re sorry if that experience today was tarnished for anyone because of the decision that we made early this morning."

“There’s nothing else in Grand Rapids like this beer,” said Chris Siciliano, who manages the website for Siciliano’s Market on Lake Michigan Drive NW in Grand Rapids, a destination stop for home brewing supplies.

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Part of the popularity for KBS comes from its story, he said. The beer is aged for about a year in bourbon barrels in gypsum caves under the city. Founders began brewing the beer a few years ago.

Their description: "What we've got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish."

Siciliano said the market received 20 calls on Saturday asking when the beer would be distributed in the area. He said they are getting their shipment on Thursday morning and it will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Given that Grand Rapidians will camp out for everything from cheap TVs to chicken wings, it’s not really that surprising a beer release event would draw a crowd as well. Siciliano said he heard from people attending the release from North Carolina, Illinois and Indiana.

They come for the release, hit other breweries in town like Harmony and Brewery Vivant, and stop at the HopCat on Ionia Ave. SW for a drink, he said.

“It’s like going to a concert and hanging out in the parking lot beforehand,” he said. “It’s good for the whole craft beer industry in Grand Rapids.”